5 Wrestlers Who Were LEGITIMATELY Fired On The Air

1. The Ultimate Warrior

Vince McMahon Ultimate Warrior
WWE.com

The Ultimate Warrior no-showed three consecutive house show dates between 28-30 June 1996, a decision for which he offered a litany of omni-Hogan excuses, the most quintessentially Hogan of which saw him blame his estranged father for dying in a shoot interview with Prodigy - a competitor to AOL, which sponsored WWF at the time.

Warrior's estranged father passed away after he no-showed the events.

Warrior also claimed that the WWF had misappropriated his self-created 'Always Believe' catchphrase in their marketing of him, and demanded the WWF purchase several thousand copies of his unsold comic book stock. It seems there was little appetite for graphic depictions of a defiled Santa Claus.

Gorilla Monsoon broke this news to the Warrior's fans on the taped 8 July '96 Monday Night RAW, announcing Warrior's "indefinite suspension" from the WWF in the event of his failure to post a $250,000 "appearance" bond. Holding the Warrior to ransom because they were comprehensively sick of his bullsh*t, this shocking segment severed their relationship for almost two decades. Due to the taped nature of the programme, Warrior appeared immediately thereafter in a match with Owen Hart, in which he actually moved!

Upon firing the Warrior, Monsoon said "Despite the immense popularity of the Ultimate Warrior, no one wrestler is above answering to our loyal WWF fans."

Since Warrior was quicker to smoke cigars than he was to perform wrestling moves, few were particularly bothered.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!